GIFTED RILEY by Lacy Mierr

Chapter 54: The Anvil and The Hammer

*Riley*

Just as expected, I had waited for Nicolas’ return, staring out the window, waiting for his sleek back car to pull up into the driveway. He promised he’d be back the next morning, so it was a bit of a shock when I didn’t see his large frame walk into the room.

Throughout the day, I had pictured what our reunion would look like. He would walk into the room while I was still asleep because he couldn’t wait to see me, he would kiss me on the forehead, which would stir me up. I would open my eyes, see his beautiful face, and pull him down into bed with me.

It was supposed to be perfect. But it didn’t happen. It’s been two days now and I still haven’t heard from him. I wondered what was going on, what was keeping him there. With how worried he was about me when he was leaving, I was so surprised that he didn’t call every second to make sure I was okay.

To distract myself, I spent the past two days helping the pack rebuild. Just as I thought, it wasn’t easy. Sure, the funding Nicolas provided helped a lot, but fixing what was broken inside of these people wasn’t something money could do.

Every time I stepped into the halls, I felt a lump rise in my throat as the memories of the state it was in when I first got here. The putrid stench.

Chapter 5: The A**l and The Hammer

of blood seemed to linger in the air, no matter how many times I scrubbed and sanitized every inch of this place. It was a constant reminder of the horrors that occurred here. And it was sickening, to say the least.

Washing the blood away and replacing the broken chairs wouldn’t make the memories of that night go away. I couldn’t imagine how the rest of the pack members were dealing with the memories. At least I wasn’t there, I didn’t watch the wolves die, or see how their blood was splattered everywhere.

In my attempt to help, I picked up a new hobby. Carpentry.

Who would’ve thought that I had a knack for woodworking? After multiple attempts, I finally mastered the art of nailing wood together effortlessly.

Now, I could fix doors and chairs with ease. Nicolas would be both extremely proud and completely horrified to see me handling dangerous tools like hammers. But at least he would be happy I was learning such a valuable skill, as long as I could protect myself.

Right now, I have another hammer in my hand. With each swing of the hammer against the stubborn nail, I could feel my frustration boiling over. Reid and Anya had finally learned to watch me from a distance. while helping out. Liam had put them to work, at least their muscles were useful for one thing.

From where I stood, surrounded by piles of wood and tools, I could practically feel Liam’s disapproving gaze burning into my back. He may

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Chapter 54. The Anand The Hammer

have stopped mentioning it, but I knew he still didn’t like seeing met working. But I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit idly by while everyone else did all the work. I had a purpose here, a role to play, and I was determined to fulfill it.

“Easy there, Riley,” I heard Liam say, worried lines etched on his face.

I let out a small chuckle. He was such a helicopter brother. “I’ve got this, Liam.”

“You’ve been at this for hours. You should get some rest.”

Deep down, I knew he was right. I had to relax.

My body was starting to ache from the hours of labor. I could feel the sweat dripping down my skin. I’d been going at this for the past three hours. I could swear it wasn’t there before, but now I could feel a distinct pain in my arm.

Yep, Liam would be glad to know that I finally dropped the hammer. Exhausted, I collapsed onto the bench at the corner of the room. I looked around at the few people working to rebuild the pack. Most of the wolves were still in the infirmary, so we could only make do with the little help we could get. And that was why I couldn’t back down.

As I caught my breath, I felt the bench shift under added weight and turned to see Noah settling beside me. I laughed a little in my head. Noah was no good at obeying instructions, and he should obey Nicolas’ instructions that is. He was no match for my mate after all.

–

Without a word, he handed me a towel and gestured towards my glistening skin. I smiled gratefully and began wiping away the sweat from my brow. We sat there in comfortable silence as I cooled off and regained my composure. My gaze drifted to Ava, who was diligently working alongside Anya to saw wood for repairs.

She looked so different. Ava was no longer the entitled brat I grew up with. She was now a responsible woman ready to do anything to help. and support her pack..

“She’s changed a lot, don’t you think?” I said to Noah, voicing my thoughts. “She’s been really busy these past few days,”

“Yeah,” Noah replied, his gaze lingering on Ava with sadness. “She’s been pushing herself harder than anyone else.”

I could sense the tension between them, the rift that had formed between Alpha and Luna. Maybe I could fix it, and bring them back together as a team.

“Whatever is going on between the two of you, it needs to be resolved immediately,” I interjected firmly. “Your pack is only as strong as its leaders, and as Alpha and Luna, you are meant to work together. Don’t suppress yourselves or keep secrets from each other. Open up and let each other in.”

My gaze locked onto his, and I shifted my eyes towards Ava, silently conveying my message to him. He acknowledged it with a nod before. rising from his s c a t. My eyes followed him as he made his way over to

the cooler, retrieving a bottle of water. He made his way to her and offered the water to Ava.

As she took the water from him. Ava’s face lit up with a smile. But then, her eyes flicked back to me and I could see the depth of gratitude in them. A warm feeling spread through my chest at the sight.

But suddenly, a p r i i n g sensation tingled at the back of my neck. Someone was watching me.

Was

My initial thought that it must be Reid or Anya, but they were completely engrossed in their task. Furrowing my brow, I turned around to scan the area behind me, searching for the source of the feeling.

Maybe I imagined it. But even as the thought crossed my mind, I frowned. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that someone was watching